Letting Go
by Bobbie23
Summary: After Ellie Spicer leaves at the end of Safe Haven, Emily comforts Morgan. References to Children of the Dark and Lauren.


Author Note – I've been very happy the last few days since they've announced the start of season nine – about a week to go now, I can't wait, coincidentally the first day of my holiday from work. Every time they show the trailer I get a bit happier. Anyway, the channel has been doing marathon days of _Criminal Minds_ and _Safe Haven _inspired this. Please let me know what you think.

Letting Go

Morgan tiredly rubbed his eyes as he stared at the television. Focusing on the screen, he idly wondered when the programme had changed, but then again he hadn't been paying attention to it. It had only been on to serve as background noise. Morgan would have attempted to drag himself off to bed, if he thought there was any chance of sleep.

A knock at his door brought him out of his reverie. Frowning, he looked at the clock on his DVD player. 9:20. Curious who was calling this late at night Morgan pushed up off the sofa to answer it. The person was beginning to get impatient as they knocked again. Clooney, who had been curled at his feet, perked up and followed him to the door. Looking through his peep hole, Morgan was confused as took the latch off and opened the door. The tall brunette was turned away from about to leave.

"Emily?" Morgan said and his partner turned to face him. Despite being the one who knocked on his door she looked startled by his answering of the door.

"Hi," she said self-consciously. She looked around at the neighbourhood, trying to figure out what to say next, rethinking coming here. "Um, I was wondering if you wanted to some company…" Morgan's expression softened making her more confident. "I brought a friend." Emily gave him a small smile as she lifted her hand to reveal a bottle of Jack Daniels.

"Well, any friend of yours is a friend of mine," Morgan forced himself to return the smile as he stood aside as he held the door open for her to enter.

Emily slid past him, standing in the hallway as she waited for his direction. Morgan held out his hand for her coat and then pointed towards the living room. She went into the darkened room as he made a quick detour to the kitchen to grab some tumblers. Despite the unexplained late night visit, he was glad of the company. It was a welcome distraction from the memories that had been keeping him awake.

When he returned to the living room Emily had settled herself on the sofa, the bottle on the coffee table in front of her. Her attention was on the television, so she didn't hear him approach. He sat beside, close but he didn't invade her personal space. Morgan twisted the cap on the bottle and poured each of them a healthy measure of the amber liquid.

Emily picked up her glass and took a sip, shaking her head slightly as it burned her throat. For what seemed like the millionth time since she had gotten into her car to come over here, Emily wondered what she was doing here. He was a private person and she doubted that he would take kindly to the intrusion when he was tackling his own demons. But she wanted to make sure he knew he wasn't alone. Even if it was for her own peace of mind.

The events that occurred a few weeks ago in California had taken their toll on him, and she knew that tonight he would be most affected by those memories.

"Why did you come here tonight Emily?" His voice broke through her thoughts.

"Because we've been through a lot lately. And I know watching Ellie walk away today must have been hard on you."

Morgan didn't deny that his heart had broken for the little girl whose father had entrusted her safety to him. "It's not like we can't stay in touch. I mean she still has my phone number for whenever she needs me. Her mom seems nice."

"But what would you have done if Garcia hadn't found her?" Emily asked what she had thinking about since Ellie had turned up in the bullpen a few days before.

Morgan took another sip of the whisky. The temporary burn comforting as he thought back to the night he witnessed Matt Spicer die. The twice daily text messages that he exchanged with Ellie had comforted him as much as they did her. His mind and his heart had been in turmoil since she appeared in the bullpen. He had been weighing up his options since Ellie had admitted that the older boys at her foster home had watched her in the shower. "I promised her father that I would keep her safe. I wouldn't have been able to do that if she had gone back to California," he told her eventually.

Emily heard the implication of his words, knowing that if Ellie's mom had rejected her daughter Morgan would have done everything in his power to make sure that Ellie's life was a good one. Even if it meant he took her in.

"Do you remember Carrie Ortiz?" He looked at her blankly for a moment. "She survived a home invasion. Her family were killed by two foster brothers, she resembled one of their biological sisters," recognition dawned on his face as he realised who she was talking about. He slowly nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "Did I ever tell you that I offered to take her in?" She looked away nervously, unsure if she should reveal this bit of information.

Morgan looked shocked as he shook his head. "You never told me that," he sounded sad that she hadn't confided in him before.

"I'd mentioned it to Hotch, but her family had come forward and she was going to live with them. So nothing came of it," she said with a casual shrug, trying to mask how disappointed she had been.

"Why?" He saw the hurt in her eyes, but said nothing about it.

"Because she was alone," Emily stated simply. "But she was so brave with how she confronted the men who murdered her family." She paused for a moment, a contemplative smile dawning on her face. "Ellie reminds me of her a little. Would you have taken her in if you needed to?"

"Yeah," he admitted. Morgan had been going through what arrangements he would have to make if that eventuality had come about. "I didn't want her to be alone."

Emily refilled their now empty glasses. Picking up her glass she touched it to his in a toast. "They're not alone anymore."

"We would have made sure they weren't." Emily nodded her agreement as they sipped again. Morgan breathed out slowly as he contemplated the other part of his torment. Detective Spicer's face had been haunting him every night since he witnessed his murder. "He begged me to make sure that Ellie was safe. Ever since I've been wondering if what I was doing was enough to fulfil that promise to him."

Emily sighed. "I think that when people know that they're about to die, they want to someone to listen to their final wishes. You did everything you could to fulfil that promise. Ellie's safe now. It's not your fault that the foster family were awful, and hopefully now that their neglect has been highlighted the children in their care will get the help they need."

"Thank you for coming tonight Emily. I really appreciate it," he said sincerely.

"Always."

….

Nearly six months later, Morgan sat hunched over in the same spot, two glasses of Jack Daniels sitting on the table in front of him. This time all lights were off. Clooney had retreated as soon as he came home. There were no distractions from his grief this time. No television. No Emily.

'_Let me go.'_

He closed his eyes as the words played through his head again. He blindly reached for one of the glasses in front of him and downed it in one, hoping it would go some way to dull the pain. It didn't work.

'_Let me go.'_

That was her final wish. But he had refused her and begged her to stay with him. Despite being surrounded by the team, he had felt alone when he had watched her coffin lower into the ground today. The guilt he felt as he realised he may never be able to grant her final wish had washed over him as he stood staring at her coffin.

'_Let me go.'_

Emily had died protecting them. Protecting Declan. Much like Matt Spicer had given his life to protect Ellie. He couldn't bring himself to agree to her final request, but he would finish what she started. He would find Doyle. He would make sure Declan wasn't alone. He hoped then that he would be able to grant her last demand.

'_Let me go.'_


End file.
